NOTE: This is an amended release, which includes two new rankings for the UI College of Engineering -- Engineering Specialty- Industrial/Manufacturing, ranked 29 compared to public universities only and 36 to both public and private universities, and Engineering Specialty-Chemical, ranked 39 compard to public universities only and 58 compared to both public and private universitites.

This release presents the U.S.News rankings in two ways: comparing public and private universities together (as the magazine presents the rankings in "America's Best Graduate Schools 2010") and comparing the UI only to other public universities (derived by pulling out private universities and recalculating). This is intended to give readers a better idea of how the UI is ranked compared to other publicly funded peer institutions across the country.

U.S.News ranks 21 UI programs among top 10 in nation among public universities

U.S.News & World Report now ranks 21 University of Iowa graduate programs and colleges among the 10 best in the country when compared to other public universities, with five UI programs continuing to rank in first place.

"America's Best Graduate Schools 2010," ranks as number 1 as compared to public univerities the speech-language pathology and audiology graduate programs, the physician assistant program and the nursing specialties of Nursing Service Administration and Gerontological/Geriatric. All five rankings are carried over from previous years. The print edition, which ranks public and private universities together, will appear in newsstands April 28.

"The fact that the UI rankings have gone up in certain areas or have remained steady in others shows that our commitment to academic excellence is as strong as ever. This is also a tribute to the intellectual vigor of our faculty, staff and students, as well as their commitment to building world class expertise, programs and colleges," said UI President Sally Mason.

UI Executive Vice President and Provost Wallace Loh agreed.

"I am very pleased to see the University of Iowa continue its strong tradition of academic excellence in our graduate programs, ranging from those in the health sciences and business to English and printmaking," Loh said.

John Keller, dean of the UI Graduate College, said he's pleased that a number of the university's graduate program offerings continue to be recognized as among the best in the nation, especially at a time when more people are contemplating attending graduate school.

"Since even more people are choosing to pursue graduate studies with the current economic situation, it continues to be critical to maintain our strong graduate programs," Keller said. "These outstanding graduate programs provide the foundation for the next generation of professionals in many fields. Iowa's commitment to graduate education continues to produce top researchers, professors and leaders for the state, nation and world."

Highlights of graduate school rankings are scheduled for publication in the May print issue of U.S.News & World Report magazine, available for newsstand purchase as of April 28. The America's Best Graduate Schools guidebook will also be available for purchase as of April 28. All of the information in the printed guide, plus deeper rankings that are available only online, may be found at http://www.usnews.com. A subscription is required to access all of the data.

Each year, U.S.News ranks graduate programs in the areas of business, education, engineering, law, and medicine. These rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinion about program quality and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research, and students. For the rankings in all five areas, indicator and opinion data come from surveys of more than 1,500 programs and some 11,000 academics and other professionals that were conducted in 2008.

U.S.News first published a reputation-only graduate school ranking in 1987. The annual America's Best Graduate Schools report began in 1990.

* * *

Following are all ranked UI graduate schools, specialties and programs, beginning with the highest-ranked programs. Rankings at the front end of each entry are as compared to other public universities as calculated by the UI Office of University Relations. The overall ranking comparing UI colleges and programs to all public and private universities is listed subsequently in parentheses.

Rankings with an asterisk (*) are new for the 2010 issue of "America's Best Graduate Schools." All other rankings are from previous years but still stand. Some of the rankings are from an expanded list available online at http://www.usnews.com with a paid subscription.

1 Speech-Language Pathology, master's (At the UI, this program is in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, formerly named the Department of Speech Pathology, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences) (1)

12 Healthcare Management, master's (previously cited in rankings as Health Services Management. At the UI, this degree is the master's of health administration and the program is located in the College of Public Health Department of Health Management and Policy) (17)